Tue, 13 Jun 2017 10:48:58 -0700WeeblyMon, 22 Sep 2014 01:27:12 GMThttp://skyrimmw.weebly.com/skyrim-mod-reviews/rabbits-of-skyrim-skyrim-mod-reviewRabbits of Skyrim is a mod by GrandBulwark (models and textures by KANRAx2) which replaces the models and textures for Skyrim's vanilla rabbits, as well as distributing new rabbit types across Skyrim. The textures and models are far higher quality than vanilla, and the new rabbit types are of various different colors and models. (It does NOT use Automatic Variants.)

The version tested is 2.0. The mod is incompatible with any mods that change the appearance of rabbits.

Update: 2.0 fixed the issues with the white-only rabbits.

Rabbits of Skyrim retextures, and remodels the rabbits of Skyrim. However, it also adds multiple variants of the rabbits it's added. With 3 new models, and 9 textures for each model, there are 27 possible variants of the new rabbits added to the list. So, you will find somewhat (though not hugely) more rabbits in Skyrim, lots more diversity, and no more ugly vanilla rabbits.

Pros

The new rabbits are... Absolutely adorable. It's a bit harder to playtest, since rabbits are somewhat rare. But I found one across the river near the Sleeping Giant Inn, several in Shadowgreen Cavern, and a few in Bloated Man's Grotto. They look much, much better than the other ones, for multiple reasons. One, the mesh is well shaped and they don't look starved. Secondly, the textures themselves aren't nearly as low res as the vanilla ones. They're all 1024x1024 textures. Lastly... Well, how can you resist them? If you look at some of the pictures on the mod page, you'll see some of the new variants even have droopy little ears.

Note: For any of you worried about performance... Rabbits are fairly rare, these aren't 2k textures (though still very detailed), and unless your computer is a pile of junk you shouldn't notice any difference at all.

Cons

Not many cons with this mod. It does what it says it will do, and the rabbits are amazing. The eyes on the white ones are also a little too red-tinted for my tastes, but it's only something you'll really notice if taking a lot of screenshots.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that I'll likely be running into all white rabbits in Skyrim, the models and textures are a massive improvement over Skyrim's. You'll find plenty of HD textured rabbits on the Nexus, but Rabbits of Skyrim takes it a step further by adding new models, new textures, and 27 completely new variants. I recommend you try out Rabbits of Skyrim at the very least, and if you liked it, remember to endorse.

This is the first video on one of the Skyrim Mod Reviews. I got some semi-decent video recording software, so little previews will come with most of the mod reviews where applicable. Of course, the written section will stay as well.

Don't worry - all those ugly arrows and white text were put there by me, not Extended UI.

Extended UI (ExUI for short) is an interface-enhancing mod by Mrpwn (MrJack on the Bethesda Forums). Currently, it overhauls the skill menu, as well as adding optional (through an MCM) support for the wait and sleep menus, allowing you to change the maximum wait time. It also adds some useful debugging features for modders in the console, though you don't have to use them if you don't want to.

The current version is 1.0.2a. It requires version 1.7.1+ of SKSE and Skyrim 1.9.32.0.8+. If you want to be able to modify the sleep and wait menu's maximum wait time, you'll also need to have version 4.1+ of SkyUI.

It is incompatible with any mods that edit statsmenu.swf, sleepwaitmenu.swf, or console.swf. If you have any issues or wonder about incompatibilities with the mod, either submit a detailed bug report in the comments or ask about the incompatibility.

Before we begin, here's a reference picture of the vanilla skill menu, for those of you who can't remember it. This is also fairly long, since it's got a lot of improvements over the vanilla skill menu to cover, as well as a few others.

ExUI is a mod that will completely change your skill menu, give you the option to change your maximum sleep and wait time, and add multiple console commands for easier testing. The largest part of the mod, currently, is the skill menu overhaul. As seen in the above screenshot, it sandwiches the skill tree viewing area between two dark bars. The top holds all the usual information that can be seen in the vanilla skill menu, while the bottom has an entirely new set of information. It shows all of the skill trees, in order, and highlights the skill tree currently selected. It also shows your current level in all the skills, and your progress towards the next level of that skill.

Pros

The main feature of ExUI is the skill menu, as I mentioned before, so let's start with that. I personally like it far more than the old vanilla menu, for many reasons. Chief among them is the incredibly convenient lower bar. A large issue I had in the vanilla menu was that I would be looking for a single skill tree - say Lockpicking -, and I would start be at Alchemy. I had no idea how many skill trees away Lockpicking was, and there was no way to tell, other than memorizing the order. Sometimes, I didn't even know which skill tree I was looking at until I zoomed in. Yes, most of the symbols made sense, but some, especially the magic trees, were confusing and I didn't know if I was on Illusion or Alteration. ExUI makes all of that information accessible at a glance. No more scrolling (or endless clicking through trees) to find the one I'm looking for.

Another part of the skill menu that might not be quite as striking to some, but which I enjoyed greatly, was how all the information about your character was condensed into one place. The default skill menu has your current health, magicka, and stamina at the bottom of the interface, while the name, race, and level (as well as level progress) was displayed at the top of the menu. ExUI moves this all to the top. While it might just be a side effect of the extra part of the menu, I did like it quite a lot.

Lastly, the skill menu looks very nice. It makes you focus on the skill trees themself by framing the skill tree view nicely, while still keeping the very streamlined look Skyrim has. As of 1.0.2, all the fonts match properly so while looking different (and better), it remains consistent with the "look" of the other menus. Still, the information is very easy to see, while remaining unobtrusive.

There's also an option in the MCM (only available if you use SkyUI as well) to toggle on and off the ability to change the sleep/wait menu length. If enabled, you can change the amount of time you can wait/sleep. The range is 2 hours to 720, so you're given a pretty free rein. I liked this a lot, since I often had to wait 24 hours 4 times for testing purposes. Which ExUI, I can wait one time for 96 hours. Of course, this isn't just a feature for testing, but playing as well.

Lastly, there are 5 new console commands added by ExUI, mostly for testing purposes. You can find a list of their actual syntax on the mod page, but their features are this: Make the console take up the whole screen, print a message to your Papyrus Log, send a mod event, get current crosshair reference, and open or close a certain menu in the interface folder. In 1.0.2, a feature was added which allows you to toggle on and off the fullscreen console in the MCM. So if you always want to have the fullscreen console, that can be done.

Cons

I'm going to just mention a few features I'd love to see. I think it would be great if you were able to click one of the skills in the bottom part of the skill menu and automatically scroll to that skill. Even if possible, it would likely be a feature that would be added far into the future since MrJack has said it's more of a hardcoded feature, and thus harder (or impossible) to add. I also noticed that pressing the bottom menu in the skill menu will close the skill menu. I'm not sure if this is intended, but I accidentally closed the menu once or twice. Once I'd figured it out though, it was somewhat useful as a very quick way to exit the menu.

Of course, I'd also like to see ExUI expanded to some of the other menus like the crafting menu. MrJack has expressed in interest in hearing other's opinions about what ExUI should "fix" next, so if you've got an idea feel free to head over to the comments and post it.

Conclusion

I'll try to finish that long-winded review in a somewhat shorter manner now... Extended UI is a great mod with lots of potential. I definitely think it could be expanded upon even more, but what it has so far is pretty great already. I'm looking forward to more updates, and I definitely think you should try it out, particularly those of you who were irked by the unintuitive skill menu and short wait times.

Realistic Primitive Horse Breeds, which we'll call RPHB from now on, is a mesh and texture overhaul for the horses of Skyrim. It stays true to the pony-like vanilla look of Skyrim's horses, even enhancing it, while also giving all the ponies of Skyrim high quality textures so they can feel good about the way they look. Seriously though - the textures are 2k textures, which is about 4x the default texture quality of Skyrim, depending on the texture.

Pros:

RPHB is a really great horse retexture mod. A lot of the retextures and mesh changers for horses on the Nexus stray from the default look of Skyrim's horses. There are also many conversations about how Skyrim's horses look "fat, floppy, and round". But there's a real reason for that - ponies like the Clydesdale are workhorses, strong and stout. They may not be as fast as say, an Arabian racehorse, but they can survive and tolerate cold climates far better. Bethesda made Skyrim's horses the way they are for a reason. But, the textures for the horses remain somewhat lacking. RPHB fixes that with new, far superior textures for the horses and some mesh changes that, while small, enhance the appearance of Skyrim's horses. They look great, and all the animations and horse-related actions look perfectly normal. RPHB also uses individual meshes for each horse breed, which allows for each horse to look different from each other.

Cons:

When the mod was first released there were one or two issues with the packaging of the files, but those are all fixed now. RPHB does use an .esp, and it is required unless you're okay with losing the unique texture for Frost and having only two manes/tails and one eye color between all 7 horse types. However, if you want you can always merge the .esp using Wrye Bash. The author has tried to minimize the amount of texture seams, but apparently there are still one or two. I didn't notice them at all, and, quoted from the mod page:

I tried to get rid of as many seams as possible just using photo-shop, so there are still a few but they are in out of the way places, such as the inner back legs where you'd never look unless you're a bit kinky for horses...

So unless you're a bit kinky for horses, you should be fine. The manes are cool looking because of the different colors, but you can sometimes see underneath the manes. It doesn't bother me much, and it might not be fixable, but it would be great if it were.

Conclusion:

I found RPHB right when I was looking for a new horse retexture mod for my playthrough. I'd been looking at HALE and Enhanced Horse Skins, but RPHB looks far better to me, since it stays closer to the vanilla look. Since it uses different meshes for each breed, it also allows for far more customization - each breed looks very distinct and different. I highly recommend you take a look at RPHB, and remember to endorse.

Update: The author is also very responsive to user requests. I found the black pony's eyes to be a little too red, and asked about changing it. KrittaKitty uploaded an optional file very quickly. Kudos to KrittaKitty for that.

]]>Wed, 13 Aug 2014 06:47:57 GMThttp://skyrimmw.weebly.com/skyrim-mod-reviews/skysight-simply-bigger-trees-skyrim-mod-reviewToday we will be reviewing Skysight - Simply Bigger Trees by fadingsignal, a talented retexturer. But Simply Bigger Trees is not a retex - it is a rescaling of the trees in Skyrim, which has been achieved in a very simple manner, by resizing the mesh. This gives Skyrim a more wild feel, and makes the forests absolutely stunning, on top of feeling positively ancient - in the best way possible. Still, there are still some bugs being ironed out, so we'll be talking about those, too.

The version tested is 1.2a. It is incompatible with any mod that replaces or edits any of the vanilla tree meshes. However, the author is trying to create compatibility patches with these mods, so hopefully there will be even greater compatibility soon. The only thing it requires is the latest version of Skyrim.

SkySight - Simply Bigger Trees (which I'll call SBT from here on out) modifies the meshes of the vanilla trees (Pine and Aspen) by resizing them to 1.5x their original size. It seems pretty simple, but the difference it can make in the game is massive. It makes the game far more beautiful - not just visually, but it also enhances Skyrim itself, making it seem larger, denser, and... Better. How? Let's talk about that now.

Pros

SBT does something fairly simple, though I have no doubt the author put in a lot of work to make it - it makes the trees bigger. But I've personally seen a lot of very simple, but very great mods in the Nexus Hot Files, and for good reason. Simplicity often is enough to accomplish the goal of the mod, and that is especially true in this case. It's what resizing the trees does that makes this mod so great. It seems incredibly simple, but the difference it makes is really quite large. When entering forests, they feel much more wild and denser, giving Skyrim a feel that you really could get lost. Also, as many of you may know, as trees grow older they get larger and larger. Ergo, the newly massive trees in Skyrim make it feel far older, adding to the wild feel. For those of you worried about scripts and reinstallation - don't. There are absolutely no scripts involved, since it just changes meshes, and if you uninstall with a mod manager there are no issues. Note: I did not test with a manual uninstallation. There are two files to choose from on the main page, so if you'd just like the Aspen trees, or just the Pine trees, then you can do that. Fadingsignal has expressed interest in creating a 1.2x version of the trees as well, so for those of you looking for slightly smaller trees than the current ones - definitely track this mod. Also, just like the author of People are Strangers (see Skyrim MW's review), fadingsignal seems very responsive to suggestions, and very determined to improve the mod and iron out the current bugs, which he has managed to do with version 1.2a.

Cons

Now you may have noticed that I've been mentioning bugs once or twice. And it's true - SBT has its share of minor bugs and issues. Or should I say had. While it no doubt still has one or two issues, many of the large ones were fixed in version 1.2a, such as the trees partially disappearing when looking up. The issue with shrinking trees still remains, but there is a workaround on the mod page, and it is also being worked on. However, SBT does cause a noticeable FPS drop. Now, I have a pretty powerful computer, with 12 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M graphics card. I also have RealLike ENB and RLO installed and I play on Ultra High settings, which may have contributed somewhat (OK - probably a lot). This lag is due to the fact that much larger shadows and other effects must be drawn/created for the trees, which means more strain on your system. Still, I know many people didn't have a large performance hit at all, so the performance impact may vary.

If you find an issue with the mod, report it in the comments thread! It helps improve the mod - after all, no mod author can't fix what they don't know about. You might also find a solution to your issue there.

Conclusion

I think that SBT is a great concept that has been achieved pretty well. There are a few, but not many, bugs in the mod, and fadingsignal seems dedicated to fixing them. SBT completely changed the atmosphere of Skyrim's more forested areas for me, making them far more enjoyable to explore, mostly because it seemed much more dense and secluded. Aside from that, the trees look absolutely beautiful, as you'll be able to see from the screenshots below. Still, the FPS drop is a minor issue for me. While the game was still completely playable hovering around 30 FPS, it was definitely noticeable - for me at least - and may affect less powerful rigs. However, I am playing with some very intensive graphic mods right now, so my FPS drop may be largely due to those. I did notice in the comments that very few people had any sort of FPS hit, so it's fairly unlikely it will affect you. I think that at the very least you should try this mod out and see what you think of it - I think it's pretty likely that you'll enjoy it. Besides, this mod is still being worked on, so it's very likely that if you found an issue with it now, the bug or problem will be gone in a future release.

What did you think of the mod? Post your experiences below. Please be polite when posting. Modders give their content to us for free, so while I'd like to hear what you thought and any bugs you may have encountered, remain civil.

People are Strangers is a mod by sagittarius22. It changes the name of NPCs you haven't yet spoken to to "Stranger". It adds a sense of immersion to the game and answers a question that you've probably asked before: How do I know the name of every non-generic NPC in Skyrim? Well, now you don't. While the mod may seem simple, it's got some other great features we're about to discuss.

The version tested is 1.0. As far as I know, it is compatible with every mod out there, though we'll talk more about NPCs from DLCs and how they're affected in a bit. It has no requirements other than the latest version of vanilla Skyrim.

People are Strangers is a pretty simple mod, in the best way. It doesn't need much explaining, but I'll reiterate what I said before anyway. People are Strangers makes it so NPCs will have the name Stranger - or Jarl, in the case of the Jarls - until you speak to them for the first time. Why would people be interested in this? Well, a lot of people who enjoy immersion find this mod great. After all, how would the player know the names of every single non-generic NPC in the game? It's absolutely ridiculous. And if that doesn't matter to you... People are Strangers also adds an interesting dynamic to the game. Aside from that, the way People are Strangers has been achieved allows for some great perks. So let's talk about those now.

Pros

I usually measure a mod by how well it achieves its goal, and People are Strangers is no different. But it goes beyond the goal. It would've been a perfectly good mod if all it did was name NPCs "Stranger" once you'd started a new game. But it has a bunch of other useful features. For example, if you load it on a save game where you've already played, it will remember which NPCs you've already spoken to and gotten to know. It doesn't require SKSE, and it even affects NPCs from other mods and NPCs. If you're worried about scripts and other issues, then... You don't need to be. As said on the mod page, it only ever runs one script once, and it has no performance impact. I also like how the Jarls are called "Jarl", not just Stranger. It's a nice touch. There are a bunch of different .esps to choose from, aside from the default, so you can have NPCs referred to by race, or you can have no text from strangers show until you've spoken to them, which can remedy one of the cons regarding subtitles below. Lastly, the author is very receptive to suggestions for the mod, which is always great.

Cons

Despite it's simplicity and the great features, it does have a few faults, though they're pretty minor. It doesn't affect dead bodies, which might not bother many of you, and it doesn't affect animals, creatures, or guards. Still, most animals, creatures, and all guards are generically named anyways. As you may have noticed from the picture at the top of this review, there seems to be an issue with subtitles. Even if the person you're speaking to is a "Stranger", any subtitles will be prefixed by their actual name. I've spoken to sagittarius about this, and it seems that it's not an issue he can fix, which is unfortunate but there's no helping it. Lastly, when walking around in the game, I noticed that occasionally someone would change from a "Stranger" to a named person without me directly talking to them. This might be because they idly talked to me as I passed them by, though.

Conclusion

Overall, I think People are Strangers is a great mod. It increases the immersion factor quite a bit for me, and all of its extra features are a huge plus. While it might seem like a lot of cons from what I've mentioned, most of them aren't even relevant. For example, most creatures and guards are generically named anyway, and for me none of those small faults are a dealbreaker. Also, the subtitles issue can be fixed by installing the 'no text' version of the mod, if it bothers you. In the end, the pros are far larger, and they completely outweigh the cons for me. It's your decision, but I would highly recommend this mod to you. There's a good reason it made the Hot Files on the Skyrim Nexus.

Real Roads for Skyrim is a mod by dukefx. It replaces the roads with 3D meshes. It is not a parallax mod, instead choosing to change all the meshes for the roads with ones that aren't nearly as flat and depressing, with no performance impact. This means that the roads actually have more depth, rather than just giving the appearance of depth. Is this better than parallax? We'll see.

The version tested is 1.0, though a version 1.01 has been released with one or two improvements, as well as separate file downloads for BSA and loose file versions and a Dragonborn add-on.

Real Roads for Skyrim is incompatible with Landscape Texture Pack WIP and Immersive Roads, though generally compatible with most texture mods since it only changes meshes. Check the mod page for more notes on compatibility.

So what is Real Roads? Real Roads for Skyrim (we'll call it Real Roads from now on) is a mesh replacer for most of the roads in the game, though not all of them - yet. If you've ever played Skyrim before, watched somebody else play Skyrim, or seen pictures of Skyrim, you know one thing: While it's a beautiful game, some of the textures and meshes are badly designed. Or maybe you just thought, "Those roads suck." And it's true - they do. They're flat monstrosities with no depth to them. Real Roads is a mod that intends to fix that, without resorting to parallax effects. This means that you don't have to install ENB, there are no performance hits (though parallax had little to none), and the roads can have even more depth than with parallax. Because parallax can only go so far, while meshes can be changed drastically.

Pros:

Real Roads is a very well done mod. I liked it a lot because rather than changing parallax, it actually changes the meshes. Parallax is great, but it doesn't quite cut it for me. It makes the bricks and stones on the roads seem to have more depth, but they don't really. Changing the meshes, however, gives the freedom of being able to do anything with the roads. They could be as high as the player, or 6 feet into the ground. (Though I can imagine this would cause a lot of texture issues.) And since Real Roads doesn't change the textures, most texture mods are compatible with it.

But back to the topic. Real Roads changes the meshes, and because of this, is able to give more depth to the roads than the parallax effect ever could, because it's not creating the illusion of depth. It's actually raising the stones in the roads of Skyrim so they aren't flat and 2D. Like the description of the mod says, Real Roads for Skyrim gives the game actual 3D road models, and it does this quite well. The roads look beautiful, in a rocky, uneven sort of way that makes the roads in Skyrim far more "real" and interesting. When I was walking around Whiterun, I found myself gazing at the roads, completely distracted. Not even a wolf attack could tear me away from the new, and much improved, roads.

Cons:

As far as I can tell, there aren't a lot of cons. Not all of the roads are covered yet, such as the ones in the cities like Whiterun, but the ones that have been 3Dified (not a word) look great.

One thing that may be a large issue for some people is that, while Real Roads doesn't touch the road textures, certain texture mods are incompatible with it because they don't fit the pattern of vanilla roads, which is what Real Roads is based off of. For the few texture mods that don't follow the vanilla patterns, this can cause stretched textures, unnatural seams and other such issues. Thankfully, only 1 or 2 mods don't follow the vanilla pattern so incompatibilities have been kept to a minimum.

In Conclusion

It really comes down to what you want more. One of the many great texture mods that Real Roads for Skyrim is compatible with, or one of the few that causes seams and stretched textures. If you want a feeling of depth to your roads, you can go with one of the many parallax mods out there. But if you want to have roads that have true depth, look better, and feel like you're actually walking on uneven stones (because you will be walking on uneven stones), then try out Real Roads for Skyrim. And unlike mods that utilize the parallax effect, Real Roads doesn't require ENB from ENBDev (though I still highly recommend it for it's other benefits).

Even if you do have one of the texture packs, try out Real Roads. Maybe you'll love how much it changes the look and feel of Skyrim's roads. I know I do.

As always, remember to endorse the mod if you enjoyed it. If you have a suggestion for the next mod to review, post below in the comments.

The first Skyrim mod review on this blog will be about the hugely popular mod, Immersive Armors. It adds hundreds of new armour pieces, and shields. The version tested is 7.1.

The requirements are a version of Skyrim above version 1.8. SkyUI is recommended, but not required, in order to use the customization menu to the best effect.

Immersive Armors is a compilation of many custom-textured, new armors that have been implemented into Skyrim in one, 900,000+ kb package. Many of them are made by the author, hothtrooper44, and most of the ones created by others have been edited by hothtrooper44. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the mod.

I held off getting Immersive Armors for a while, since I was afraid that the mod's claim of "seamlessly integrating into Skyrim" was false. After playing with it, both with SkyRe and JaySuS Swords, and on it's own, I've come to realize the truth of that statement. While I could tell which armors were from Immersive Armors, it was only because I already know all the armors in Skyrim, and because the textures are far better quality.

In fact, that touches upon one of Immersive Armor's great qualities. An issue with Skyrim was the limited array of items. You could play through Skyrim once, only finishing the faction quests and main quest, along with some side-quests, and see 95% of the armors in the game. Immersive Armors completely changes this aspect of Skyrim. I've played through the main quest, along with dozens of side-quests, and haven't come close to finding all of the new armors.

Another great feature of Immersive Armors is the integrated MCM menu. It allows you to disable the distribution of individual armor sets amongst NPCs, or you can disable an armor set entirely. Since there were three or four sets of armor in Immersive Armors that I didn't like, this was a helpful feature. You can also change the armor type (light, heavy, or unarmored) for several sets of armor.

If you don't have SkyUI, you can also change all these options via a spell, though it's not quite as simple an interface.

I hope you enjoyed my first mod review. If you have any edits for this post, please post them below. Also, if you want to suggest a mod I should review next, feel free to post that in the comments, too.

One of the many armors added by Immersive Armors.

]]>Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:48:28 GMThttp://skyrimmw.weebly.com/skyrim-mod-reviews/isharameradins-mods-and-resources-skyrim-mod-reviewOne of the very helpful users at the Skyrim Nexus, IsharaMeradin, is the author of several mods for Skyrim. While they're relatively small, most of them (﻿not all﻿) are free-to-use resources. What does that mean? It means that you are allowed to use the resource in your own mod, or parts of it. You have permission to use them, without asking, though you should credit Ishara. The mods I'll be reviewing are Isharas Key Ring, Isharas Road Signs, In-Game Clock Hotkey and Aesthetic Bolt Quiver. If you want to see the permissions for the mods, then click the "Perms" button underneath the file pictures.

I'm testing version 1.0 of Isharas Key Ring, version 1.0 of Isharas Road Signs, version 1.1 of In-Game Clock Hotkey and version 1.1b of Aesthetic Bolt Quiver.

Note that the four mods are not just resources - they are fully functional, great mods in and of themselves.

Isharas Key Ring

Isharas Key Ring is a small mod that adds a Key Ring to the player's inventory. It was created for multiple reasons - partially for testing, but also to get rid of the insane amount of keys that can amass in the player's inventory. Aside from that, it allows you to level up your lockpicking even when you have the key to a door, should you so choose. The mod is really quite helpful, clean, and easy to use.

You may modify as you see fit for your own personal use.For any projects to be released publicly, I request to be asked about use. Should I fail to reply after a two week period and my last forum access was greater than 90 days, consider permission granted.

I recommend the mod for its ease-of-use and well-done features. Ishara made the mod much better than she needed to by adding an option not just to sift through the Key Ring, but to automatically take out keys for containers and doors that are near you.

Isharas Road Signs

Isharas Road Signs gives the road signs in the game a purpose: When you activate a road sign, it gives you the option to fast travel to the location, save the game, save the game and fast travel, or just close the messagebox (don't do anything). It's a nice mod because it gives the otherwise boring road signs a purpose. An excerpt from the permissions:

Do what you want with this. Please give credit if you include any of my work in your publicly released projects.

It's a good mod, especially if you want a reminder to save when you're traveling. Plus, it's just nice to see the road signs have some functionality. You can use it as a completely free resource, as long as you credit Ishara. If you want to make your own mod to make road signs more interesting, then it's a perfect jumping-off point.

Aesthetic Bolt Quiver

[Requires Dawnguard] This is a simple mod that changes the position of the bolt quiver from Dawnguard so it rests on an NPCs back, rather than floating several feet from it. It's a quick fix for an irritating problem. Permissions excerpt:

PERMISSIONSThis mod is "open source". You may learn from it. You may adapt it for your own personal game. For all other modifications please ask permission.The 90 day and 2 week clause: -- If you have asked for permission and have not heard back after two weeks have passed AND my last Nexus forum access was greater than 90 days, permission is granted.

PERMISSIONS AND CREDITS REGARDING PATCHES, TRANSLATIONS AND OTHER DERIVATIVESSpecific permissions and credits are outlined for each within the info file accompanied with the download. Please respect the permission statements of the originating mods when seeking to work with any of their assets.URLS with brief description are listed here:-- Explosive Bolts Visualized by MadCat221 - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/21922/? - allowed modification of meshes for compatibility

There are possible compatibility issues with this mod since it edits the skeleton slightly. It should also be noted that the alpha version of the mod XP32 Maximum Skeleton Extended supports Aesthetic Bolt Quiver. (That link (the XP32MSE link) does go to Lover's Lab, which is a site containing advertising, and some adult content in certain sections. You have been warned.)

In-Game Clock Hotkey

[Requires SKSE] A nice mod that adds a changeable hotkey to check the in-game time. While there are other mods to show the in-game time, this one is nice and easy if you just want to check the time with the click of a key. There's also an optional file to add sundials to multiple towns. If you don't have SKSE, the sundials will still work to check the time, but the hotkey won't. The permissions say:

Please keep this on the Nexus only. You may adapt it for personal use. You may (if you feel so inclined) further modify to include any sort of in-game menu options for changing the assigned hotkey and re-release it provided you link back to the original for those who do not like to use in-game menus as well as give credit where it is due.Regarding the sundials, the script abimClockScript located inside the Isharas_InGameClockHotkeyAndSundials.bsa may freely be used with any clock resource that you may wish to use. Credit for my work is all I ask.

In Conclusion

Ishara has many more mods aside from those. She's also very generous with the use of her mods, and while not all of them are free-to-use resources, all of them accomplish their goal well. I encourage you to check them out, and if you like them, to endorse them.

Trees in Cities - The Complete Pack is a collection of CoffeeAddictUK's (better known as The Coffee Guy) mod series, Trees in Cities. Trees in Cities - The Complete Pack attempts to add more trees to Skyrim's cities, while giving each city trees unique to their style. Something that always bothered me about mods that added flora to Skyrim's city was the overpowering amount of trees and undergrowth they added. Trees in Cities maintains a great balance between new content (in this case, trees) and the vanilla look, which is something that few mods do.

Trees in Cities requires only the latest version of Skyrim. It is incompatible with Open Cities.

The version tested is 1.0.0.

Skyrim is a beautiful game, to be sure, but it's cities are somewhat less interesting. They feel far less alive. And while some of this apparent lack of life is understandable for certain cities, major hold capitols such as Solitude, Markarth or Whiterun should be teeming with life. There are mods that add more people, or new buildings, but there are few that add flora and plantlife to the cities. Trees in Cities - The Complete Pack aims to do just that, and it accomplishes its goal exceedingly well.

Trees are hand-placed in logical locations for 5 holds - Whiterun, Markarth, Riften, Solitude, and Windhelm. Having walked through them myself, Trees in Cities makes a far bigger difference than most people would think. It doesn't just add trees - it removes some of the emptiness in the larger cities that is all too apparent.

Trees in Cities is a great mod not just because of the above reasons, but also because the author clearly paid attention to detail. For example, in Riften you can now find aspen trees dotted around the market and surrounding buildings. All the trees fit their environments which helps add to the immersion, unlike some mods that detract from it.

Trees in Cities doesn't have any impact on performance, at least as far as I could tell (I tested on a high-end and low-end computer), so you shouldn't have any trouble there.

From a realism standpoint, Trees in Cities makes a lot of sense, too. Real cities aren't barren, treeless places. After all, even New York has Central Park.

I would highly recommend Trees in Cities to any and all players. If you do decide to download it and you enjoy it, be sure to endorse the mod on the Nexus. The author deserves the support.

Today we'll be looking at a mod called INIGO. I'm testing version 1.1 of the mod. (I may release an update to this review once version 2.0 comes out, since it's supposed to add a bunch of new content.) INIGO is an advanced follower mod by smartbluecat, though vamyan has helped with the creation of the upcoming version 2.0. If you're looking for an interesting, well-developed and fully voice-acted follower, look no further. You've found him.

The mod requires nothing more than the latest version of Skyrim.

As you might be able to tell from what I've said so far, I've definitely enjoyed INIGO. Quite a lot, really. It feels complete already, even though it's still in version 1.1. The follower, unsurprisingly, is called Inigo. He's a Khajiit with a strong personality and great voice-acting. And he's purple.

Well, not quite purple. Indigo, or a bluey-purple color. Some of you might be complaining about the unimmersiveness of it already. But there's more. He speaks in first person, unlike most Khajiit. But the author, smartbluecat (or Gary), does give some fairly good reasons for this. You can find those in the FAQ of the mod page. Suffice to say, there are reasons for Inigo's strangeness.

Inigo is a follower with a lot of cool features. Aside from basic follower functionality (following, sharing his inventory, fighting alongside you, etc.) he won't use a torch when you sneak, talks about his surroundings, is fully quest-aware, and will share his thoughts with you if you ask. If you're annoyed with how often he speaks, you can find a Necklace of Muffletongue in the location that you find him in. Put it on him and he won't speak as much. I, however, enjoy his talk. It's funny, interesting, and eerily accurate.

If you speak with Inigo while you're seated with him in a tavern, it opens up a whole new avenue of conversation for you to explore. You can ask him how you're doing, and he'll talk to you about your skills. Or you can ask him to read certain books to you if he has them, or even make him dance or sing while in the Bard's College. And as you get to know him better, you can learn even more about his background and past.

Inigo has thousands of lines of dialogue, and much more to come, including a quest line, new NPCs and much more. Even if you don't download him now (which I highly recommend), you should definitely keep an eye on him. Inigo is a viable alternative for even the best follower mods out there, and I think - even better.

What mods would you like to see reviewed next? Tell me in the comments below.